Eli's Hospice Insider
See What Whistleblowers are Alleging
PDF
Your best course of dealing with whistle blower actions is to stop them before they start. Taking internal complaints seriously is vital. Encourage people to come forward with their concerns, said attorney Mary Michal with Reinhart Boerner VanDeuren of Madison, Wis. When an employee's take on compliance differs from that of your agency, take the time to help them understand your stance and why you take it. Michal sees the following common whistleblower allegations: • Admission of ineligible patients • Admission of patients with long length of stay and ill-defined diagnoses • Delays in discharging ineligible patients • Backdating physician certification or recertification of terminal illness • Providing kickbacks to nursing home employees • Paying incentive compensation that results in the retention of ineligible patients • Offering to provide free goods or services to Medicare beneficiaries to encourage them to enroll in hospice • Alteration of clinical documentation to portray the patient as eligible for hospice
Eli's Hospice Insider
- MARKETING:
Census Numbers Slipping? Three Proactive Things You Can Do Now
It's time to work on relationships with your referral sources. Hospices around the country are [...] - COMPLIANCE:
Take 5 Tips for Top-Notch Internal Compliance Investigations
Don't undermine your compliance efforts by failing to document findings. Without a strong process for [...] - See What Whistleblowers are Alleging
Your best course of dealing with whistle blower actions is to stop them before they [...] - READER QUESTION:
Identify Compliance Hotspots in Exit Interviews
Don't forget to document action taken on fraud allegations. Question: During exit interviews,we ask employees [...] - RACS:
Get Ready for the RACs -- Hospice's Latest Wolf at the Door
RAC target areas will likely match those of FIs. So far, the Recovery Audit Contractors [...] - QUIZ:
Do You Know Your RAC Facts?
See if you know the score for how RACs operate. To find out if your [...] - QUIZ ANSWERS:
Do You Know Your RAC Facts?
Check your quiz answers here. 1. Answer: B Medicare Part A and Part B fee-for-service [...] - INDUSTRY NOTES
• Creating an implantable cardioverter defibrillator policy can save your patients from needless shocks. Mount [...] - In other news...
• Say goodbye to consult codes.CMS has eliminated this series of CPT codes for docs, [...]